Lightning-arrester.



REP. JACKSON.

LIGHTNING ARRESTER. APFLlCATlON HLEn FEB. 3. 1910. RENEWED JULY 14,1915.

1 ,1 77,336. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAY P. JACKSON, 01 PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO WESTINGHOUSEELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

LIGHTNING-ABBESTEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

Application filed February 3, 1910, Serial No. 541,735. Renewed July 14,1915. I Serial No. 39,896.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAY P. JAcKsoN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lightning-Arresters, of which the following is a spamfication. V

My invention relates to lightning arresters, and it hastfor its objectto provide an arrester that shall be unusually effective in operation.

In the single figure of the accompanying drawing, which illustrates anarrester conto be protected consists of a rod or bar 2 having a curvedor horn-shaped upper end, the said terminal being supported byinsulators 3 that are mounted upon a post 4. Mounted adjacent to theterminal 2 is another and shorter terminal member 5, that is also curvedor horn-shaped, and is so arranged as to diverge from the upper end ofthe terminal member 2.

The terminalmember 5 is supported by means of a high-resistance andgrounded post 6 that is preferably composed of Portland cement, concreteor other refractory material possessing high resistance, though, ofcourse, other materials maybe employed, if desired. Projecting atintervals from one side of the post 6, and arranged verticallysubstantially in line with the-terminal 5, of which they constitute anextension, are a plurality of conductors 7 which are shown as curvingdownwardly, said conductors overlapping but not engaging one another,

the uppermost conductor being overlapped by the terminal member 5. Theconductors 7 are separated from the longer terminal member 2 byair-gapsthat increase in width as the distances thereof from the shorterterminal member 5 increase; that is, the airgaps between the terminalmember 2 and the conductors that are located near the ground are greaterthan the gaps between the terminal member 2 and the conductors that arenear the shorter terminal member 5. The post 6 serves as ahigh-resistance for connecting the parts 5 and 7 to each other and tothe ground. Of course, other means may be employed for connecting thesaid parts and for supporting them, but since low intensity or voltagewill occur between the terminal members 1 and 5, since the airgapbetween the said members provides the shortest path to the ground. Inthis path, there is the greatest amount of resistance, and,consequently, there is the greatest obstruction to the passage ofcurrent from the line to the ground. The are that follows such adischarge will rise between the diverging portions of the terminalmembers 2 and 5 and will ultimately interrupt itself, by reason of itsdistortion.

Discharges of higher voltage Will occur between the terminal member 2and the conductor 7, the greater the voltage or intensity of thedischarge, the greater the air-gap that the discharge will jump. Thearcs which follow the discharges will, because of their own heat, moveupwardly between the ter minal member 2 and the conductors 7, beingtransferred from one of the conductors 7 to the next above, and so on,because of the overlapping thereof, until transferred to the terminalmember 5, between which and the member 2 they will ultimately beextinguished. Since the resistance between the conductors 7 and theground decreases as the distance of the said conductors from theterminal member 5 increasesgit will be understood that the amount ofcurrent that will follow a discharge from the line to the ground willvary with the intensity or voltage of the discharge, so that thedisturbance of the line varies with the intensity or voltage of thedischarge.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lightning arrester comprising relatively long and short divergingterminal members, the former of which is connected directly to the lineto be protected, a resistance interposed between the shorter terminalmember and the ground, and a plurality of downwardly extendingoverlapping conductors that are connected at intervals to the resistanceand constitute an extension of the shorter terminal member,

A lightning arrester comprising relatively long and short divergingterminal members, a resistance connected to the shorter terminal member,a plurality of conductors that are connected at intervals to theresistance and have overlapping laterally bent ends to constitute anextension of the shorter terminal member, the said conductors beingseparated from the longer terminal member by air spaces, the Widths ofwhich differ as the distance between the same and the shorter terminalmember increases.

4. A lightning arrester comprising a pair of diverging terminal membersof unequal length, a series of curved conductors arranged to constitutean extension of the shorter terminal member, and a single highresistancesupport for said curved conductors.

5. A lightning arrester comprising two diverging terminal members ofunequal length, a series of conductors that constitute an extension ofthe shorter terminal members and have overlapping laterally bent ends,and a single high-resistance support for said overlapping conductors.

(3. A lightning arrester comprising terminal members one of Whichconsists of a plurality of conductors having overlapping laterally bentends and a single high-resistance support for said conductors.

7. A lightning arrester comprising a pair of terminal members one ofwhich consists .of a refractory high-resistance member and a series ofconducting members having overlapping laterally bent ends and supportedthereby.

8. A lightning arrester comprising relatively long and short divergingterminal members, the former of which is connected directly to the line,a refractory high-resistance member that supports the shorter terminalmember and is connected to ground, and a plurality of conductors thatare supported by the high resistance member and have overlap nnglaterally bent ends to constitute an extension of the shorter terminalmember.

9. A lightning arrester comprising relativelv long and short divergingterminal members, the former of'which is connected directly to the line,a refractory high-resistance member that supports the shorter terminalmember and is connected to ground, and a plurality of conductors thatare supported by the high-resistance member and have overla ')pinglaterallybent ends to constitute an extension of the shorter terminalmember, the said conductors being separated from' the longer terminalmember by air spaces, the widths of which differ as the distance fromthe shorter terminal member increases. y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st dayof Jan., 1910.

RAY P. JACKSON.

\Vitnesses:

L. A. MAGRAW, B. B. HINES.

